Rep. Maxine Waters: Paul Ryan has ‘not done his job’

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., slammed House Speaker Paul Ryan Wednesday, saying he “has not provided any real leadership,” but predicted that Republicans as a whole would begin turning against President Trump as allegations of misconduct continue to mount.

In an interview with Yahoo News, Waters, an outspoken Trump critic, framed Ryan’s resistance to defy the administration as a self-preserving bid to maintain his power in the House. After the New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump had asked FBI Director James Comey to end his investigation of then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, Ryan declined to criticize the president, saying that “there are some people out there who want to harm” Trump and that Comey should have come forward at the time.

“[Ryan] has gone along, just hoping that they would not get rid of him,” Waters said, adding that the speaker is “trying to satisfy everybody.”

“He is absolutely irresponsible in the role as speaker of the House. He’s not done his job,” she continued.

Since the revelation of the Comey memo, a growing number of politicians on both sides of the aisle have called for a special prosecutor to investigate the possibility that Trump associates colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Some lawmakers, including Waters, have even raised the possibility of impeachment, with the rationale that Trump’s request to Comey constitutes obstruction of justice.

Acknowledging that she’s “been on the road to impeachment longer than everybody,” Waters expressed confidence that her congressional colleagues would be more outspoken as the Russia investigation progresses.

“You will” hear from Republicans, she said. “The closer we get to the truth, the closer there’s an understanding of facts that will prove that there was an attempt to undermine our democracy.”